After playing to packed houses in the West End and followed by a short five week tour, Oscar Wilde's much loved and witty masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest comes to Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 3 to Saturday 7 November.

A whole host of household names are set to star in Oscar Wilde’s comedy masterpiece at Darlington Civic Theatre next month.

Rosalind Ayres (Titanic, Outnumbered, New Tricks), Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire, Downton Abbey, Coronation Street), Martin Jarvis (Endeavour, Just William, Titanic), Christine Kavanagh (Man and Superman, Vera, Manchild), and Siân Phillips (Marlene, The Age of Innocence, Cabaret) will reunite as The Bunbury Company of Players, an extremely experienced cast of serious comedic actors, to reprise their roles from the West End.

Dubbed by Wilde ‘a trivial comedy for serious people’, the production delivers an entirely faithful, but completely unique, setting to one of the greatest theatrical comedies.

The Importance of Being Earnest elegantly lampoons the hypocrisies of Victorian society and opens as two bachelors, the dependable John Worthing, J.P. and upper class playboy Algernon Moncrieff, feel compelled to create different identities in order to pursue two eligible ladies, Cecily Cardew and Gwendolyn Fairfax. The hilarious misadventures which result from their subterfuge and their brushes with the redoubtable Lady Bracknell and the uptight Miss Prism result in a plot that twists and fizzles with some of the finest dialogue to be found in theatre.

Nigel Havers said: “This production is very close to my heart and we had a ball doing it in the West Endlast summer. I’m thrilled we get to do it all again and hope audiences in Darlington will laugh and enjoy watching our twist on Oscar’s brilliant play as much as we enjoy performing it.”

Tickets:

The Importance of Being Earnest is at Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 3rdSaturday 7th November 2015. Tickets* are £20.10 to £29.50.